Soil microbial community and physicochemical properties together drive soil organic carbon in Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations of different stand ages

Carbon sequestration in forest soil is critical for reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and slowing down global warming. However, little is known about the difference in soil organic carbon (SOC) among different stand ages and the relative importance of biotic and abiotic variations such as soil microbial community and soil physicochemical properties in the regulation of SOC in forests. In the present study, we measured the SOC of the topsoil (0-10 cm) in Chinese subtropical Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations of three different stand ages (young plantation of 6 years, middle-aged plantation of 12 years, and mature plantation of 25 years). We further measured microbial community composition by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and soil organic carbon physical fractions by wet sieving and density floating as well as other physicochemical properties. The effects of the main impact factors on SOC were investigated. The results showed that: the middle-aged plantation had significantly higher SOC (10.63 g kg(−1)) than the young plantation (5.33 g kg(−1)), and that of the mature plantation (7.83 g kg(−1)) was in between. Besides, the soil total PLFAs and all the functional groups (i.e., bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Gram-positive bacteria, and Gram-negative bacteria) of PLFAs were significantly higher in the middle-aged plantation than in the young plantation and the mature plantation. Soil physicochemical properties, including physical fractions, differed among plantations of the three stand ages. Notably, the proportion of organic carbon protected within microaggregates was significantly higher in the middle-aged plantation (40.4%) than those in the young plantation (29.2%) and the mature plantation (27.8%), indicating that the middle-aged Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation had stronger soil organic carbon stability. Both soil microbial community and physicochemical properties exerted dominant effects on SOC and jointly explained 82.7% of the variance of SOC among different stand ages. Among them, total and all the functional groups of PLFAs, nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, and organic carbon protected within microaggregates had a significant positive correlation with SOC. These results highlight the important role of soil biotic and abiotic factors in shaping the contents of SOC in forests of different stand ages. This study provides a theoretical basis for forestry management and forest carbon cycling models.